By the Numbers: Red Wings 5, Kings 2

Imagine, if you will, that you are the proud owner of a 1967 Shelby GT 500. A magnificent specimen of a car with only one purpose: go fast and do it with horsepower. It’s a dream car, and has given you many moments of pure bliss throughout your relationship. And like any good car, you always want to keep it looking great and running at peak efficiency. But repairs are inevitable, and upgrades are all but necessary to keep Eleanor looking and running like the dream she is. Usually, you take her to a trained mechanic, who uses only the best parts to ensure smooth, consistent performance. However, there’s bound to be that moment one day where you decide that since it’s only some minor modifications, you can do it yourself. So you start tinkering with your magnificent machine. A tweak here. An adjustment there. Until finally everything looks pretty darn good and you close the hood. But when you start it up, smoke sputters out of the exhaust, the engine sounds like someone is banging a ball-peen hammer on it and that sense of dread slowly settles in. You’re forced to drive this oh-so beautiful car down the street with an acrid blue-gray cloud of embarrassment trailing behind you, until you reach the mechanic that knows this car inside an out and can get that engine back to perfection.

Such was the case Mike Babcock found himself in after the 6-2 spanking from the Sabres on Tuesday night. His beautiful ride had turned into a clunker when Babs tried to add the youth to the lineup instead of playing the guys with proven experience. The ride stalled, the car went into the shop, and the mechanic repaired that reliable ride back to it’s naturally beautiful state. That reliability showed in the form of the Draper-Maltby-Homstrom line, and all of that experience helped keep the Wings on an even keel en route to a 5-2 win over the Kings tonight.

And on a night where the old reliable guys helped steady the ship, Nick Lidstrom left his mark too, notching a pair of assists, with the second giving him his 1,000th career NHL point. A huge congratulations to one of the classiest guys ever to step through the doors of both the Detroit Red Wings organization and the NHL. This is an accomplishment that is well-deserved, and each and every one of us is proud of you. Congrats #5!

Now then, let’s have some charts, shall we?

____________________________________________

**The season totals are updated here and here.

UPDATED 10/16 9:26 AM: After the fact and some further review, the NHL added an assist for both Henrik Zetterberg and Jonathan Ericsson on Brian Rafalski’s empty net goal. The charts have been updated. Carry on.

Line Production

Special Teams Production

____________________________________________________

It was a much needed win. Now, can we keep it up?

Tags: Los Angeles Kings, Nick Lidstrom